Insulating frame construction



' June 24, 1958 HORACE B. ADAMS INVENTOR imam ATTORNEY United States Patent 7 2,839,789- r I INSULATING FRAME CONSTRUCTION Horace B. Adams, Rockland County, N. Y. Application February 28, 1955, Serial No. 490,790 4 Claims. (c1. 204

The invention relates to building insulation adapted for installation between adjoining building supports and, more particularly, to a special resilient insulating panel adapted to provide a substantially continuous vapor seal in a building surface being insulated.

It is known that insulating materials commonly used It is considered that it is highly desirable;

in frame construction generally require mechanical fas special insulating material which can be installed between adjoining building support members without tools and.

which will simultaneously provide a substantially continuous vapor and insulating seal across the insulated building surface.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

= Figure l depicts'an embodiment of the insulating panel contemplated in accordance with the present invention;

' Figure 2 depicts a sectionof an insulated frame construction wall embodying thepanel of Figure 1;

Figure 3 depicts another embodiment of the special insulating panel contemplated by the invention; and

Figure 4 depicts an insulated frameconstruction'. wall embodying the special panel of Figure 3.

Generally speaking,the building insulationcontemplated in accordance with the present invention comprises a resilient insulating panel having at least one dimension slightly greater than the distance between building support members in a frame construction surface, and having in combination therewith a vapor sealing strip extending from at least one edge defining said dimension and being of sufi'icient width substantially to be wrapped around the building support member adjoining said edge when said panel is in place in a building wall.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the insulating panel is comprised of corrugated paper board in combination with an aluminum foil vapor sealing stripextending along at least one edge thereof perpendicular to the'corrugations in the insulating panel. It will be appreciated that aluminum foil itself has substantial insulating properties. In practice, the insulating panel is so constructed as to be slightly wider than the distance between facing surfaces of adjacent building support members, e. g., studs, joists, rafters, etc.

The insulating panel contemplated in accordance with the present invention can be installed between building support members merely by pressing the resilient panel "ice support members contacting the edges of the panel. 'The' flexible vapor seal strip is then folded or wrapped around the building support member adjacent thereto and the next panel is then installed in the adjoining space such that the vapor seal is pinched between the support member and the edge of the latter-installed panel.

Reference to the attached drawing will make the invention apparent to those skilled in the art. In the draw: ing, Figure 1. shows a resilient corrugated board element I faced with aluminum foil 2 in combination with a flexible aluminum foil vapor seal strip 3. Figure 2 shows a preferred insulating panel contemplated in accordance with the present invention installed between studs 4 in a frame construction wall. As shown in the drawing, the resilient panel 5 of corrugated board is bowed between studs such that the edges of the panel frictionally engage 'the stud faces. The aluminum foil vapor seal 3' is wrapped around the stud and is firmly keyed in place on the opposite face of the stud by the edge 6 of the panel installed in the adjacent stud space. Figure 3 depictsan embodiment of the invention -of unitary construction comprising the panel portion 7v and the vapor seal portion 8 which is suitably creased as shown at 9 to facilitate folding of the vapor seal about a stud. Figure 4 depicts the insulating panel of Figure 3 as installed between studs 4. As shown in the case of the installation depicted in Figure 2, the insulating panel portion 7 is slightly ,wider than the distance between facing surfaces of the studs 4 and is held in place by frictional engagement of the panel edges against the stud faces. As in the case of the installation depicted in Figure 2, the vapor'seal portion of the insulation shown in Figure 4 is folded about the stud and is keyed frictionally in place by the insulation installed in the adjacent stud space.

Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the special insulation contemplated by the invention is readily installed in either new or old construction without toolsand with a mi'nimum of effort. The special construction provided in accordance with the inventionis light and the.individual panels are easily handled. In order to facilitate handling, the special insulation can be made in a few standard widths to fit between studs placed at standard widths, In cases'where studs arenot placed at standard widths, as is sometimes the'case in old con-- struction, insulation made in accordance with the present invention can readily be cut to width with hand;

tools, such as a knife. The special insulation can also be made in standard lengths.

Despite the light weight of the special insulation provided in accordance with the. present invention, it has remarkable insulating properties, particularly when the preferred construction comprising corrugated board insulating panels provided with a facing and a vapor sealing flap of aluminum foil is employed. It will be appreciated that a preferred embodiment of the insulating panel contemplated by the invention comprises parallel sheets of aluminum foil held apart by a sheet of corrugated board. This combination oifers outstanding insulating properties and very light weight.

. An outstanding advantage realized by installing insulation as contemplated by the present invention is that a vapor seal and insulation can be installed across an entire'wall with a minimum of breaks in the vapor seal and without the use of tools. As a further advantage, the invention provides a method whereby studs as well as the space therebetween can be sealed and insulated. the entire wall or other building surface can be sub- In this manner, the heat barrier properties of stantially improved as compared to the heat barrier properties of insulated walls which are insulated in conventional ways by insulation applied between the studs. The fact 'that no tools are required in installing insulation as contemplated-in accordance with the present invention; greatly decreases the time required for installationand enables installation of insulation, by unskilled operators. 7

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that corrugated board employed as insulation inaccordance with the present invention desirably may be treated to improve themoisture and/or fire-resistance thereof. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other materials thanthose specifically mentioned herein may be employedv in producing the special insulation contemplated. by the present invention. For example, other resilient materials'suchas fiber glass, thin plywood, etc., may be employed in constructing the insulating panel and other materials such as plastic film, waterproofed paper, etc., may be employed in constructing the vapor seal contemplated in accordance with the present invention. These and other modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. As an example, vapor sealing strips can be separately applied around building support members and can be frictionally held in place by the resilient insulating panels applied therebetween.

I claim:

' 1; The method of simultaneously applying insulation and a continuous vapor seal across a frame construction wall comprising a plurality of substantially parallel loadsupporting members which comprises pressing between a pair of said members an insulating panel slightly wider than the distance between facing sides of said members such that said panel becomes bowed in section perpendicular to said members and the edges of said panel are held in contact with each of said facing sides substantially along the length of each said member by the resilience of said panel, and said panel having a flexible sealing strip fastened thereto along at least one of said edges in contact with said members; wrapping said sealing strip about the thereadjoining building member; and pressing a second insulating panel provided with a similar flexible sealing strip into the space defined by said thereadjoining building member and the next adjacent member to holdfirmly in place said sealing strip wrapped about said building member.

2. The method of simultaneously applying insulation and a continuous vapor seal across a frame construction wall which comprises establishing a frame construction wall having a plurality of substantially vertical loadsupporting members at spaced intervals; pressing into the space defined by a pair of said members a first insulating panel of aluminum foil faced corrugated board having a flexible aluminum foil sealing strip along a vertical edge thereof, said panel being slightly wider than the distance between the facing sides of said members such that said panel becomes bowed in horizontal section and is held by its own resilience in contact with each of said facing sides substantially along the length of each such member; wrapping said sealing strip about the thereadjoining member; pressing a second insulating panel provided with a similar flexible vapor seal strip into the space defined by said thereadjoining member and the next-adjacent member, said second insulating panel likewise being slightly wider that the space into which it is pressed such that it becomes bowed in horizontal section and is held by its own resilience in contact with the facing sides of the members defining said space to holdin place the'wrapped sealing strip attached to said first insulating panel; wrapping the sealing strip attached'to said second insulating panel about the thereadjoining building member; and consecutively inserting insulating panels andwrapping said building members to provide an insulated wall having a continuous vapor seal.

3. An insulated and vapor sealed frame construction wall comprising a plurality of studs at spaced intervals, a plurality of insulating panels slightly wider than the spaces between said studs pressed into said spaces and held therein by their own resilience, each of said insulating panels. having attached to a stud-contacting edge thereof a flexible vapor sealing strip, said sealing strip being wrapped about the there-adjacent stud and being heldin place by the edge of the resilient panel in the adjacent space between studs.

4. An insulated and vapor sealed frame construction wall'accordingto claim 3. wherein the insulating panel is of corrugated board with the corrugations thereof 3 perpendicular to the studs and the vapor seal is aluminum foil covering said panel and extending beyond an edge of said panel to form a vapor seal about said stud.

References Cited-in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Canada Sept. 16, 1952 

